Adventures in vegan eats and feats

Falafel bowl

I finally get to share this with you, since it’s been a hectic, long and slow week. These awesomesauce baked goodies are the perfect filler for sandwiches, salads, pastas and wraps, and next time I’m doubling the recipe. Let’s head over to the recipe!I’ve been without energy for months now but it’s definitely coming to a breaking point, so I’ve been stocking up on as much protein as possible, because that always makes me feel better. These baked balls are drier than some of my others, but that’s because I find that when packing such things for lunch they get too soggy otherwise and disintegrate. If you’re not so keen on firm versions you can always add 2 TBSP veggie purée (such as pumpkin) until your batter is a bit more wet. I’m also not usually an olive fan but I’ve grown fond of black olives and combined with the lentils, figs and sundried tomatoes they work really well. Again, I can’t believe I was silly enough to only make 16 – in less than a day almost half are gone! I’ve been craving pasta like crazy of late so I suspect this with zucchini pasta and the tomato-spinach sauce will be my lunch tomorrow whilst Man-thing shoves them in a wrap. Such bliss!

Falafel ingredients (makes 16):

1 cup cooked brown lentils

1/3 cup soaked sundried tomatoes

1/2 cup soaked dried figs

1/3 cup pitted black olives

1 heaped TBSP tomato paste

garlic & herb mix

pinch salt

oregano

2 TBSP nutritional yeast

3/4 cup chickpea flour

Tabasco to taste

How-to:

Preheat oven to 180C and line a baking tray.

Blend everything together in your food processor until combined, the sundried tomatoes and figs are broken down, and the mixture comes together when pinched. If you don’t have a food processor finely chop your dried ingredients and then fold together in a bowl.

Roll into heaped-TBSP sized balls and place on baking tray.

Optional: coat in bbq sauce or chutney.

Bake for 15 minutes, turn them over then bake for another 5 – 10.

To serve: steamed gem squash halves, pan-fried spinach with tomatoes, tahini, yellow pepper, garlic and onion flakes.Sometimes it’s difficult to inspire oneself to eat things differently, so the squash bowls are a fun change and so easy to steam and serve, which is really the only way we cook around here, other than boiling lentils and what not. Even plain lentils can get a bit boring so these falafel are a nifty protein delivery system, and for three of them you get approximately 14g protein and 14g fibre! Best of all, this is a rather cheap dish, and one can always sub the dried figs for even cheaper goods such as dates or raisins. We’re desperately trying to structure our heads around living frugal, and I suspect blogging is going to suffer big time unless I restructure my brain around cheaper, more accessible ingredients. Not that I’d say I’ve been splurging on imported angel’s breath or whatever, but one can still go a little excessive on small touches which in all honestly can be worked around. As of next year I’m doing my teaching practicals and only one half-day job (time, alas, does not allow for more) so we’ll be cutting left right and centre to make ends meet, but I figure that’s a normal part of early married life and the bleak job market. Hearing stories of parents and family who started off poor as dirt and over time manage to settle themselves financially quite well is at least a relief in that a few years of tightened belts will mean rewards later on. I’m not too fussed but it will be difficult to restrain myself at the grocer!

What are your favourite frugal-living tips? We need all the help we can get!

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Ahoy, I’m Margaux! History teacher and freelance editor; wench to my Man-thing; volunteer at a cat shelter; and handmaiden to our kitsy cats, Gatsby, Freyja and Atlas. This blog is dedicated to vegan food, occasionally overthrown by pictures of foster kittens and other fluffy creatures. I love sharing ideas and recipes, so don't be shy: stop by and say hi!